1. Field of Industrial Application
The present invention relates to a control input device and a game system and particularly to a control input device usable for inputting a manipulated variable into a simulation apparatus or the like and a game system for playing a game by moving a character within a game space through the input operation of a player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Popular games are known to include a shooting game for shooting targets by the use of a shooting input section such as a mimic gun or the like, a fighting game for fighting enemies by the use of mimic guns and so on. During the game play, a player aims and triggers its own mimic gun at an enemy in an image on the screen. When the facing direction of the gun aligns with the position of the enemy, the enemy will be damaged.
Depending on the game, an enemy may shoot a player at the same time as the player shoots that enemy. At this time, the enemy is bullet comes out from the depth of the image toward the player. It is judged that the player is hit by the bullet as the bullet has moved to a position spaced apart from the player by a predetermined distance.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application Hei 8-257240 discloses a game machine using a mimic gun swivelable about a fulcrum on a control panel. Such a gun is also movable in the lateral directions.
In such a game machine, however, the movement of the mimic gun for avoiding bullets from the enemy on the screen is limited since the gun is only movable in the lateral directions Thus, the game lacks in reality relating to that the player attacks the enemy while avoiding the attack from the enemy. In addition, the input operation through the mimic gun has less flexibility, so that much more time will be required to smash the enemy.
There is also a shooting game system in which a player character is moved within a game space by a player manipulating a character moving control section with one hand, the other hand being used to manipulate a mimic gun to aim at and shoot a target.
In such a shooting game system, it is very difficult that the player moves the character with one hand and manipulates the mimic gun with the other hand. Therefore, this shooting game system raised a problem in that the manipulation was too difficult for players and that any player could not concentrate on and enjoy the shooting game.
Particularly, any beginner cannot successfully manipulate the separate actions on both hands respectively Thus, the game is often over without enjoying it. As a result, the shooting game system will less be challenged by the beginner.